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Kenya's ultra-modern creation Nairobi is the "Green City in the Sun" and the gateway to East Africa. Though it doesn't have the best reputation in the world, the capital city of Kenya has a spirit of its own. At night, Nairobi swarms with hustlers, hookers and expats. At the crack of dawn, its revolving doors of towering skyscrapers start to turn, ushering white-collar workers. Upon getting in its core, Nairobi reveals a vibrant and bustling cosmos complete with safari-sellers, vendors, markets and buzzing nightlife and music scene - a place to tune into a modern hum of African life.

Founded in 1899, Nairobi was then a camp on the Mombasa-Uganda Rail Line and became an important town and colony of the British Empire in the late 19th century. Today, while the city prides itself in its Westernization, its other side struggles with the burden of the expanding slums in Kibera which housing a million of people.

A good way to start a journey to the city is by taking the traditional bus matatu or riding the three-wheeled auto-rickshaws called tuktuks. Day and night, visitors can enjoy Nairobi's chockfull of sites, starting with the eco-tourism tours and wildlife safaris and then moving on to Nairobi National Park, Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage and the Langata Girafee Center. A mountain forest, Ol Donyo Sabuk serves as a sanctuary of endangered species such as duiker, bushbuck and the colubus monkey. To cool off a tiring day, visitors usally go to the Thika 14 Falls and Tana River, the latter just about an hour drive from the city center. The area is a venue of some white-water rafting enthusiasts.

Visitors can walk around some of Nairobi's famed landmarks, after visiting the natural sites. This includes the leafy Nairobi National Museum which exhibits geological and cultural artifacts of Kenya. The National Railways Museum exhibits the history of railroads of the country apart from the ancient engines of the colonial era. This used to be the colonial house of the legendary Karen Blixen, the author of Out of Africa. It is also one of the heritage museums that add to Gallery Watatu, National Archieves and the Bomas of Kenya where visitors can have a close up snapshots of Kenyan homes, traditional dances and music. The Go-Down Arts Center, on the other hand, is a sprawling studio of Nairobi's young visual and performing artists.

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